10 – 14 November 2016, Curzon Soho Cinema (99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 5DY) www.rofilmfest.com TOGETHER AND APART is a phrase which may describe the relationship between two partners as they twist
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Profusion brings you an extraordinary trio of crime fiction novels from Romanian authors in English translation, plus an amazing true crime book. PROFUSION PUBLISHERS (www.profusion.org.uk) is an independent British enterprise, publishing popular
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The Celebration of Women in Romania: MOTHERS’ DAY in Romania is celebrated on the 8th of March, which is also the International Women’s Day.

Ask any Romanian what happens on the 8th of March and they will tell you: Mothers’ and Women’s Day. The majority of people have forgotten, or might simply have no idea, that things have been so for only a (relatively) short time, and that Mother’s Day, as we know it, was imported straight from Soviet Russia at the end of the 1940s. Originally used as the communist regime’s flagship for women’s issues, it seems it was adopted by the people quite willingly. Being very close to the traditional celebrations of the 1st of March (Martisor) also helped, so the existing popular tradition turned an imposed political event into a well-loved holiday.

So it is that the 8th of March became the day when women, especially mothers, could be lavished with small gifts and flowers. As in other counties on Valentine’s Day, the price of flowers skyrockets on Mothers’ Day in Romania. Businesses, stores and local authorities around the country compete to bring special offers for women, from free coffees and flowers to discounts. There have also been official pardons for minor motoring offences.

Although, from 2010, there has been an official Mothers’ Day in Romania, on the first Sunday in May, it will probably take a very long time for it to take over the function of the 8th of March as both Mothers’ and Women’s Day.